Good Things in Store
by anikahanson
Summary: Peter put his head back on Tony's shoulder. He never expected that he would be so lucky. After his aunt died, his heart had broken in two and he thought it would never be put back together. And a lot of days, it still felt that way. But nights like tonight, even after the fact that Tony had a near miss, he had hope that the world could still somehow have good things in store.


Good Things in Store

Peter Parker stood, frozen in horror, as he watched the screen. It showed a sky, rolling and tumbling in circles so fast that everything became a blur.

He was watching his mentor Tony Stark's Iron Man Cam, illegally he might add, but that was between him and FRIDAY. He had been banned from this Avengers fight because it was a _school night_. The ridiculous notion had made Peter scoff, but he was used to it at this point. None of the Avengers ever sided with him whenever he pointed it out, so it was no use trying to tag along anymore. It never worked and he always got in more trouble than it was worth. So, whenever he knew there was a school-night fight happening, he would go down to the workshop and watch it on Tony's cam. He had conned the surprisingly gullible Al into keeping it a secret, as Peter didn't think that Tony would take well to the news that he was being spied on during missions. But, it was better than sitting in front of his phone, waiting anxiously for news. This way, he reasoned, if Tony got hurt, he would know immediately.

Like right now. Tony's camera continued to tumble, flashing patches of land that grew closer and closer with every rotation. Tony was falling out of the sky.

He couldn't hear Tony yelling, couldn't see his hands waving around. He must have been knocked unconscious by that hit. It looked like the Avengers had been fighting a ten-story tall ant, which looked just as ridiculous as it sounded. It also had long, slender arms that could pick up _massive_ amounts of weight, and hurl them up into the sky.

Just like a true ant.  
Scott was probably sniffling in pride.

Tony had been hit half a mile into the sky by what appeared to be an expensive-looking motor-home. Whether there had been anyone in it or not was anyone's guess. Peter could hear voices yelling distantly and could see flashes of War Machine beginning to appear as Tony's cam continued to spin. Peter could tell FRIDAY was attempting to restart the thrusters per protocol, but they sputtered out almost immediately. The ground was becoming alarmingly close, and Peter held his breath and gripped his hands to the table, unable to breathe. _Wake up, Tony_, _wake up! _

Not 100 feet from the ground, War Machine crashed into Iron Man and the camera violently jolted to a stop. Rhodey's voice called out.

"I gotcha, Tony. Can you hear me? Wake up, man."

Tony's camera fell and touched the earth, but more gently this time. Rhodey's face appeared, taking up the screen, and he started tapping on Iron Man's eyes.

"Toonny. Good morning, darling."

Peter let out a relieved gasp as he saw Iron Man's hand finally raise up to swat away his friend.

"You good, man?"  
"Yeah." Tony's voice was groggy and muffled. "Get off me."

"FRIDAY, injuries?"

"Boss has a minor concussion, no other injuries. Vitals are normal."

Rhodey's hands patted the side of Iron Man's facepiece harshly and Tony grunted angrily.

"You're so cute when you're mad," Rhodey teased, and his face cleared the picture as he left to rejoin the fight.

"FRIDAY, close screen. Turn it off."

FRIDAY immediately obeyed and the hologram disappeared. Peter forced his fingers from around the table and dropped heavily into his chair. Delayed panic rose in his throat as he realized what had just almost happened. A terrible feeling of grief surfaced as he couldn't help but to think of his parents, then Uncle Ben, and finally, Aunt May. Everyone he loved had died. Tony was bound to be next in line. He knew that in Tony's line of work, he was extra vulnerable to this fate.

Peter stood suddenly. He needed air. He ran, taking the stairs to burn off some of his panicked energy as he clambered up to the rooftop to think.

...

When Tony got home, he prayed silently that he didn't look as bad as he felt. He felt like he had been hit by a truck.

_Not a far stretch from the truth_, he thought grimly, remembering the RV hurtling towards him.

The elevator doors opened for him and he trudged into his foyer, dumping his shoes carelessly below the coat rack. "Pep," he called softly. It was late but he knew she was waiting up.

"In here," her voice replied almost instantly. Tony adjusted his hoodie slightly as he headed towards her office. The redhead sat at her usual spot in front of her sleek computer screen.

"Hey babe," she said softly. "Long evening?"

Tony sighed heavily and leaned against the door frame. "Tell me about it. We almost got our asses kicked in by an _ant_. It was the ultimate karma, really."

Pepper smiled but didn't ask any more questions. She had stayed up-to-date on the event and knew all the details probably before the rest of the Avengers did. She knew that Tony had gotten knocked out and already had read the full medical report from the medbay. She knew the injury was minor and he had gotten a quick release.

"Bed?" Tony asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Mmm, in a minute," Pepper had already turned her attention back to her computer.

"Where's the kid?"

"He's here somewhere. Hasn't left the penthouse."

Tony leaned back and scanned both sides of the hallway. "That's weird," he muttered to himself, "he's usually right here when…"

His words drifted off as he realized that he had unconsciously grown accustomed to Peter waiting up for him as well. "FRIDAY, where's Underoos?"

"Peter is on the rooftop, Boss," FRIDAY chimed in.

"He's out there? It's a school night."

"Spider-Man is inactive." FRIDAY corrected him.

Pepper and Tony exchanged looks.

"It could be nothing," Pepper started slowly, "but.."

"Yeah." Tony knew too. He headed back towards the elevator.

...

Peter ran his fingers through his thick, curly hair. He sat on one of the many air conditioning units on top of the tower, his feet thumping the metal as they pounded rhythmically against the side. The wind stung his ears, whipping around him on top of the sky-high building. His thoughts chilled him further and did nothing to ease the panic that had been lingering in his belly for the past few hours.

He knew what he needed to do.

He had absolutely _no idea _how to approach this with his mentor. He didn't want to freak him out, or overstep his boundaries. The dance Tony and he did around each other amazed him at times, acting like blood family but skittering away from using any technical terms.

_Father and son_, that's what the rest of the Avengers would say jokingly about their relationship. They weren't wrong. Even his relationship with Pepper was a true mother/son bond, which made it so easy and so _right_ when the three of them did things as simple as eating a meal together.

Peter's heart would clench with the longing to be officially part of their family, but he would push it down, over and over, knowing that he was close enough, and out of fear that he would ruin everything by talking about it.

_After all_, he argued with himself, _I'm already pretty much theirs. _

After learning of his aunt's death the year before, Peter remembered being numb as he was led to a car, then into the elevator at the Avengers tower, and then into a room down the hall in the penthouse. He hadn't been in the head space to acknowledge or care that the clean bedroom already held his most vital belongings. In the days that followed, Peter remembered becoming aware that the rest of his belongings had appeared at some point, with his jeans neatly folded in a chest of drawers and his posters rehung on the walls.

It was then that he had asked himself if he was meant to stay there.

"_Hi, Miss Potts." _

_Peter shyly poked his head in the door of Pepper's home office. _

_The powerful woman sat, relaxed, in an overstuffed office chair. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and her sharp red heels were tossed nearby. _

"_Hi Pete," Pepper smiled at him. She pulled her attention away from her computer screen and turned her chair to face the disheveled boy. "Come on in. What can I do for you?" _

_Peter turned red as he tried to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. "I, I was wondering.." He pushed his hand through his hair awkwardly. "My stuff is here," he finally admitted lamely. _

_Pepper seemed to understand. _

"_Come sit, Peter," she beckoned him to one of the chairs on the other side of her massive desk. "We were gonna discuss this with you but it always seemed like the wrong time." _

_Peter sat down, his stomach turning knots. The fear of rejection didn't quite make sense and he knew it, but his stomach didn't listen to reason and it clenched painfully. _

_Pepper folded her hands on her desk. "Peter, Tony and I became your legal guardians the same day that your aunt passed." She paused thoughtfully. "We'd like your stay here to be permanent, if that's what you want. For all legal purposes, this is your home now." _

"_P-permanent?" Peter stuttered. He knew better than to be surprised. It was obvious; the clues had given it away. But he felt his stomach and heart unclench at her words. A new home. _

_A wave of grief struck him and he swallowed hard against it. It only lasted a moment before it collided with a surge of relief and an awestruck feeling at being wanted by some of the most powerful people in the country. He was going to be okay. Tony and Pepper wanted him. _

"_Okay," he said finally, still processing the emotions that battled within him. "Okay. Yes. Thank you." _

_Pepper stood and walked around the desk to face Peter. She tugged him onto his feet and squared her shoulders at him. She demanded eye contact and Peter obeyed, overly aware of the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. _"_You're not alone," Pepper told him firmly. "You have us." She hugged him tightly and planted a kiss on his cheek. Peter allowed himself to relax in her words and her embrace._

And he truly did.

He had his bedroom in the penthouse, across the hall from Tony and Pepper's own room.

He had his own bathroom and he had quickly realized that he was expected to keep presentable.

He had started to become comfortable with hanging his jacket next to Tony's hoodie on the hooks by the elevator door, and he no longer panicked when he realized he had left something laying around in the living room.

He had a curfew, an over-the-top lunch packed for him on school days, and a small list of household chores taped to the fridge.

He had started to feel like this was _home_.

And it was.

He and Tony had become inseparable since he moved in. He found himself always gravitating to wherever he was, usually tucked away with him in the lab or workshop. Their penthouse was surprisingly small and cozy, and Tony would always make adjustments for the young boy to be close to him. After long days, they found comfort in just sitting quietly together in the living room. Peter would work on homework and Tony would answer neglected emails. Pepper had found them sleeping against each other on the couch on multiple occasions. She would shoo them both to bed, but she always did so smiling. Peter could tell that she was just as happy to have her little family. Those were always the best nights.

FRIDAY interrupted Peter from his thoughts. "The boss is on his way to the rooftop, Peter," she informed him softly.

"Thanks, FRI." Peter responded. He sighed. Tony would want to know what was up with him. There was no backing out of this now. He could do this.

"Hey, Underoos, it's freezing up here."

Peter smiled as Tony approached. Tony knew by now that he was most likely to find Peter perched above where a human should be. He always automatically looked up now when searching for him.

Tony stopped in front of the HVAC unit and put his hands on his hips, squinting up at him. "What are you doing? Sulking? Did you get another B in French?"

Peter let out a laugh. "I'm just enjoying this lovely fall evening."

"Fall? Its 50 degrees out and you're half arachnid. Get down before your skinny spider legs freeze off."

Peter rolled his eyes and jumped off the unit. He accepted the Metallica hoodie that Tony shoved at him and pulled it on.

"Now really, what are you doing up here? This isn't your normal style. Was MJ mean to you? Or, more mean than usual?"

"Nooo, I told you, I'm just enjoying the fresh air." Peter turned and sat down on short metal staircase.

Tony sat down next to him, quiet for a second. Then he turned abruptly towards Peter. "You're spying on me!" he accused.

"No, I-"

"Yes you are, I can tell! You little wretch. Did FRIDAY put you up to this? Or Pepper?"  
"No!"

"You're watching body cams. How did you get into mine? You aren't supposed to have access to that." He blinked hard at Peter, waiting for an answer.

"Well, I mean," Peter grinned sheepishly. "FRIDAY is pretty easy to convince if you talk to her right."

"Uh huh. I'm gonna have a little talk with her."

FRIDAY chimed in, defending herself and obviously listening in. "Boss, Peter proved a good point that it was an additional safety net for yourself to have him monitoring your-"  
"Ah ah!" Tony shushed the AI. "I'll deal with you later, miss."

Everyone fell silent and Peter felt the humor in the air begin to fade. He remained silent and sat, staring intently at the flashing lights of an airplane slowly moving across the sky.

"Pete, I'm fine," Tony finally sighed. "I got cleared by the docs, good as new."

"I know."

"I would say don't worry about me, but I know that's not gonna help. But you don't have to be scared. I have the team backing me up, like Rhodey tonight. They're not gonna let anything happen to me."

Peter nodded, not taking his focus off of the night sky.

"Are you worried that I'm going to be taken away too?"

_Tony's not beating around the bush_, Peter thought. He swallowed hard and nodded again. They sat in silence for a minute longer.

Peter suddenly ducked his head. "I want you to adopt me." he murmured, so quiet he half hoped that Tony wouldn't hear him.

Tony stiffened beside him. "Do what?"

"I want to be a Stark." Peter swallowed and found his voice. "And-and I want you to marry Pepper. I want her to be a Stark too."

"Woah woah now," Tony gave him a long look. "The adoption thing, I can get on board with. But marry Pep? I don't want her to be more of the boss of me than she already is."

Peter scoffed lightheartedly, aware of Tony's constant need for humor to hide his emotions. The two sat, again, processing their thoughts. Peter's stomach whined unhappily at the tension.

"Really?" Tony finally asked softly. "You'd want that?"

"Well, she's kind of already your boss."

Tony elbowed him playfully.

"I don't want to waste valuable time half-in a family," Peter finally answered him. "I have you here, and now, and who knows how long it will be for."

"Are you just wanting this cause you're scared you'll lose me too?"

"No, I've been wanting it for a long time. Tonight I just got scared enough to finally say something."

Tony nodded. "I want that too."

Peter stared at Tony, his eyes wide. "Really?"

"Really really."

Peter put his head against Tony's shoulder and sighed, allowing the joy and contentment to spread through his chest as Tony wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"You gonna pick up my name?"

"Well, maybe like, Peter Parker Stark. Or Peter Starker. That's a cool combo."

Tony laughed. "I'm not renaming it Starker Industries."

"I mean, it's something we can talk about in the future, right? I think Starker sounds better than Stark, personally."

They both chuckled and fell into another short silence.

"You don't have to feel pressured to add Stark to your name."

"No, I want to, if that's ok with you. I think May and Ben would be happy for me. And that way I could honor everyone in my life. You know?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think Pepper will think?"

"Well," Tony pulled away from Peter and grinned at him. "She's had the paperwork drawn up for about six months now, and she's been pestering me about it for longer."

Peter's eyes widened. "For real?"

"Yeah, so I think it's safe to say she's on board."

"Wow." Peter put his head back on Tony's shoulder. He never expected that he would be so lucky. After his aunt died, his heart had broken in two and he thought it would never be put back together. And a lot of days, it still felt that way. But nights like tonight, even after the fact that Tony had a near miss, he had hope that the world could still somehow have good things in store for him.

"You know you've already been our kid for a while now, right?" Tony asked him.

"Yeah, I know. And you've already been my mom and dad."

Tony clutched his chest. "You mean I have to share you with Pep?"

Peter scoffed. "We'd both be dead without her taking care of us."

"I'll have you know I can cook like two pasta dishes. And bacon. We'd be fiiine."

Peter gave him a look, as to say, _oh really now. _

"Happy's got a ring for her, you know. He's been holding on to it for me."

"Yeah, I know. For like two years now."

"How did you know that?"

Peter just grinned and shrugged.

"I really am getting uncomfortable with the amount of illegal knowledge that you're figuring out around here." Tony jumped up and pulled Peter up by the elbow. "It's way past bedtime for a school night, s_on_." They started to walk back to the elevator doors. "I get to call you that now and you have to do what I say now."

"Oh, and I guess I'm gonna have to start to rebel now, _Dad_."

Tony clutched his chest dramatically again. "You're going to give your old man a heart attack."

The two walked into the elevator, shoulders bumping against one another in their vintage rock hoodies. Just before the doors closed, Peter buried his face against Tony's sleeve. Tony leaned down to kiss his hair in response.

"I love you, son."

Love you too, dad."


End file.
